SQL AwardThe trophy simply reads “SQL” but its implications are highly significant. PCS consultant Bill Fraedrich found the award waiting for him on his desk. “It’s a major award!” remarked Fraedrich. “I don’t know anybody that’s ever received recognition like this, ever.” SQL is Structured Query Language, the underlying command structure beneath relational databases. Fraedrich has done extensive work with the databases of several PCS clients solving a wide variety of problems in both Microsoft SQL Server and MySQL databases.
Though significant, little is known about the SQL award, partly because SQL itself is incredibly complex and technical. This also makes it difficult to explain the nature of Fraedrich’s achievement. “I would explain in detail,” said Fraedrich, “but frankly, few lay people have the math to comprehend it.” The award was conveyed by Colin Mitchell, a mathematician, teacher, and software development expert. Mitchell personally made the hand-crafted polished steel statue in his own workshop. The markings, which at first give the appearance of random nicks and scratches, are thought to actually represent an elegant mathematical formula, the details of which are yet to be decoded.
“I’ve met Mitchell and he’s and interesting character.” Fraedrich said. “His interests are varied: higher math, SQL, taxidermy, and playing the bagpipes. He rather reminds me of Erdos, the famously eccentric genius of math, so brilliant that there’s actually a numbering system to identify mathematicians who collaborated with him. Perhaps one day I’ll be lucky enough to have a Mitchell number.”
